Stats: Asad Shafiq breaks the all-time record for most Test centuries from number six

Shafiq produced an amazing display to offer a glimmer of hope for Pakistan

A record which stood for more than 42 years has been broken by Asad Shafiq. The Pakistani batsman went past the legendary West Indies all-rounder Sir Garry Sobers’ tally of eight Test centuries from the number six position and consequently etched his name in the history books.

Shafiq scored his ninth Test hundred from the number six slot during the 1^st Test against Australia at the Gabba. The 30-year old led Pakistan’s unexpected rearguard on day four with a brilliant knock.

Left chasing 490 in the day-night encounter in Brisbane, not many would have predicted the visitors to put up a fight especially when they had been bowled out for just 142 in the first innings. However, they ended the penultimate day at 382/8 to give themselves an outside chance at a shock victory.

Shafiq, who was dismissed for only 2 in the first innings, walked into bat with Pakistan reeling at 165/4. Their situation got worse after Younis Khan and Sarfraz Ahmed departed to the pavilion with still 270 runs to get.

The diminutive batsman entered the innings on the back of some wretched form – 58 runs from his previous seven innings including three ducks. However, he produced an exhilarating counter attack and motored to 100 off 140 balls with 10 fours as well as a six.

The Karachi-born cricketer did survive a few anxious moments with Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith dropping him on 58 and 72 respectively. But, he rode his luck to remain unbeaten on 100. With still 108 runs needed from the last two wickets, Pakistan require him to keep going on the final day to entertain thoughts of a record-breaking fourth-innings chase.

For now, the right-hander will revel in his remarkable achievement of dislodging Sobers from the top of the list. While his average may be significantly lower than the Caribbean icon, Shafiq has managed to carve a niche for himself at the lower middle-order. All but one of his Test hundreds have come from the number six position which often necessitates batting with the tail-enders.

It does not take more than a glance at some of the famous names in the list to acknowledge the magnitude of his feat. The under-rated Shivnarine Chanderpaul possesses the best batting average (64.82) at the number six slot among those with at least 1000 runs.

Most Test hundreds from number six*

Player	Matches	Hundreds	Fifties	Runs	Average	Highest
Asad Shafiq	46	9	13	2716	44.52	137
Sir Garry Sobers	42	8	11	2614	53.34	174
Shivnarine Chanderpaul	40	7	16	2528	64.82	147*
Tony Greig	45	7	15	2741	43.50	148
Ricky Ponting	34	7	8	1989	49.72	197
Hashan Tillakaratne	58	7	11	2843	47.38	204*
Asif Iqbal	31	6	6	1750	43.75	166
Ian Bell	31	6	9	1623	60.11	140
Allan Border	48	6	17	2556	52.16	153
Clive Lloyd	40	6	13	2214	49.16	161*

(*Note: All Statistics are accurate as of 18^th December, 2016)